adventures in raising three boys

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OK. So the most amazing thing happened to me a couple weeks ago. I did something I thought I couldn’t do. And not only did I do it, I kicked its ass.

This story will make you laugh. I know it’s ridiculous. But let me explain.

So for what I guess has been my entire driving history, I thought I couldn’t parallel park. It freaked me out and I don’t know why. I had no reason whatsoever to think this. I never had a failed attempt at it before. I never backed over a little old lady or slammed my car into a fire hydrant while trying to park. For whatever reason, I talked myself into believing that I suck at it and therefore would rather drive around and around and around until an easier space opened up for me to pull straight into.

How freaking lame. I get that. Really.

So recently I found myself cruising around San Diego, a city I’ve only visited one other time but have for some reason figured out how to get around with ease. This, too, stuns me since I still get on I-465 in Indy the wrong direction at least once a month.

Kid you not.

So I’m driving around San Diego and near Balboa Park I came upon a group of … get ready … lawn bowlers.

Kid you not.

JACKPOT.

I slammed on the brakes and frantically looked around for a spot to park. I couldn’t miss getting photos of this. It was just too good. And YAY! there was a space. And BOO! it required parallel parking. And to make matters worse, I was in a rental car I wasn’t even familiar with yet (I’d been driving it about 30 minutes and was frustrated with its many blind spots). I looked around quickly and thought, I’m gonna do it. Nobody’s watching.

I think I held my breath while I did it.

And then … I zipped right into it.

I sat there for a second and was like, WTF. I just parallel parked. On the first try.

I know y’all are laughing and rolling your eyes. I am too. This is so freakin’ absurd to me. I had talked myself into believing I sucked at something that I never even tried.

Later that day, on the way to check in to the hotel, I spotted tons of police, police tape, ambulances, crowds. The journalist (sicko) in me immediately wanted to get closer, but there were flares everywhere and the roads were all closed. I quickly turned onto a side street and UGH, there was one spot. And UGH, it was a tight spot in which I’d have to parallel park.

This was my chance to prove to myself that it wasn’t a fluke.

And guess what? Again I kicked its ass. Never touched the curb. Got out and checked and I was only inches away.

INCHES. BOTH TIMES.

And to make this story even funnier (more lame), I am constantly reminded of a fun show I saw a while back on Discovery Health. It was a show about the differences between men and women. In it, they had “scientific research” proving that men are better at parking than women. Something about how men can use spatial reasoning and their brains better than women when it comes to parking and driving. So tonight, I decided to look it up. Damn if it ain’t true. Well, at least according to one person’s study.

Here’s what I read:

The scientists from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, concluded men benefit from superior co-ordination and spatial awareness because their brains can process the changing position and speed of a car quicker than women’s.

Now I guess I need to figure out what else I think I suck at that I really can conquer as easily as parallel parking. Hmm ….